Biggest star of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar, makes waves across international box offices

Bollywood’s leading man, Akshay Kumar, has acquired the rightful title of the international ambassador for Bollywood cinema, following his phenomenal international Box Office success in 2007. Bollywood golden boy, Akshay, released four films last year, all of which became 2007’s biggest international Bollywood Box Office grossers. All four films made it into the UK Box Office Top 10, with two of them, Namastey London – which was added to the Oscars Library – and Welcome, reaching the Top 5.

Akshay Kumar’s December 2007 release, Welcome, topped all of the festive season’s Bollywood releases, grossing $4.5million in its first two weeks. His October 2007 release, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, made one of the biggest Bollywood Box Office opening of 2007. In August 2007, Akshay’s Heyy Babyy, was a huge international box office triumph, breaking into the UK Box Office Top 10 in its first three days.  In March 2007 Akshay’s, Namastey London, dominated the UK Box Office Top Ten for several concurrent weeks, it was the first Bollywood film to feature an entirely British production crew and has been added to the Oscars Library.

2008 sees the living Bollywood legend catapulting even further into the international spotlight. Akshay’s film projects this year include the first ever Warner Bros Hindi film venture – his biopic, Chandni Chowk to China. 2008 will launch the unstoppable Akshay Kumar well and truly into the mainstream, as he has rightfully acquired the title of international ambassador of Bollywood cinema.

As well as that, Akshay Kumar also continues his global charity work in 2008. Recently, he joined the United Nations in their efforts to raise awareness about global human trafficking, featuring in a two-minute video called One Life, No Price, which is being screened at cinemas before the start of his film release, Welcome. The video unites the United Nations’

Office on Drug Control (UNODC) with key members of the Bollywood film fraternity, as part of a broader programme called UN GIFT (Global Intitiative to fight Human Trafficking). Last year saw Akshay joining Hollywood actress, HIV/AIDS activist and global ambassador for Population Solutions International (PSI), Ashley Judd, to promote emergency contraception in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Among Akshay Kumar’s other charity projects, he is also Worldwide Ambassador for the Paralympics. 

Akshay Kumar is recognised as India’s most coveted actor, amiably referred to as a ‘hit machine’ for the consistency with which he delivers successful films. Having already championed Bollywood, Akshay is all set to sweep Hollywood and the mainstream by storm, establishing himself as a leading brand and icon, not only among the South Asian Diaspora, but across the globe.